1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a neck cushioning towel, specifically one that is worn at a sink in a beauty salon, barber shop or the like to provide comfort and to help maintain the head in a neutral position while the hair is being washed, rinsed or treated.
2. Description of Prior Art
Beauty salons, barber shops or the like commonly supply a customer with a clean, ordinary, terry cloth towel, which is used mainly for the absorption of water or chemicals as the hair is washed, rinsed or treated. Ordinarily, the sink used for these purposes is made of a hard material--cast iron, molded plastic or porcelain over steel. The sink is generally designed with an uncushioned indentation where the cervical vertebral area of the neck rests. There being no support for the head, the head often tilts backward over the inner edge of the indentation, causing hyperextension or distortion of the vertebral arteries that feed through the cervical vertebrae. As a result, approximately 23% of the brain's oxygenated blood supply could be hampered, giving rise to the possibility of stroke or other neurological damage.
At the present time, customers must either endure the discomfort and risk the danger of vertebral arterial injury or do one of two things--support their heads with their hands or ask that a folded, ordinary towel be placed in the indentation to provide some degree of comfort and protection. My search revealed no prior art relative to the problem of safety, which my neck cushioning towel helps to solve. Likewise, my search revealed no prior art relative to the problem of discomfort, which my neck cushioning towel solves.